1 hour ago, woolleyfooley said:

What does a free rig do better than a Texas rig? How well do those weights come through thick grass/vegetation? @AlabamaSpothunter

 

It's not as good as a bullet weight pulling through the weeds.  My water gets almost as weedy as florida water, and I like to pop the free rig up when the weeds are thick.  You get their attention with quick movement, then the weight separates and the bait glides down.  That's usually when I get bit. Sometimes a floating worm can be worked in place too, like a bottom feeding baitfish. But I also find a standard t-rig is best when snaking horizontally through the thickest of jungle.  

 

scott

2 hours ago, woolleyfooley said:

What does a free rig do better than a Texas rig? How well do those weights come through thick grass/vegetation? @AlabamaSpothunter

Unlike the Texas Rig, the Free Rig falls squarely into the 'Freedom of Movement' bait category.    All that means is that the rigging allows the actual lure significantly more play or freedom to move when rigged when compared to traditional bottom contact baits like a Texas Rig, or Football Jig.     So, the Free Rig is to the Texas Rig as the Football Jig is to the Wobble Head.    Besides the Free Rig, and Wobble head, the other main freedom of movement bait is the Carolina Rig.    

 

On a Free Rig It depends on the bait you use as to how much different it will be vs. a Texas Rig.     On baits like a Zoom Lizard or Ol Monster, the action isn't near as dramatic as when you use large surface area or floating/elastomer type baits.   

 

For example, a Texas Rigged elastomer Bellow's Gill doesn't create much separation between the weight and bait when it hits the bottom, but on a Free Rig that same bait will create significantly more separation, which creates a slow spiraling fall after the weight reaches bottom.   

 

A Free Rig is often referred to as a mini C-Rig.    Both rigs enable the bait to be unimpeded by the weight, hints the freedom of movement term.  

 

I fish Free Rigs mainly in heavy cover like laydowns, and brushpiles, not so much grass outside of weed lines so I can't really comment how it differs from a Texas Rig is submerged grasses.   I can say that the Free Rig comes through heavy cover as good as the Texas Rig though.  

 

Lastly, if you look at water tank Free Rig videos, the differences to the naked eye many times are hardly noticeable depending on the bait, however in practice and when you're not just dropping a few feet of line straight down into an aquarium, the effects are greatly magnified.    If you allow the Free Rig to hit bottom on slack line, the separation between weight and bait is significantly increased.    Just keep that in mind when you watch those tank tests.     

 

Bottom line, you owe it to yourself to at least try a Free Rig out.    

34 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Only problem is that the rest of the fishing world has found them as well, and they can be hard to get at times.  

Well good thing it’s just you, me and some guy named Glenn on this site. 

19 hours ago, RRocket said:

I agree with all of this. 

 

The only difference for me is the baits that I use.

 

Oh, and I always used a bead. Widely used in Japanese Free Rig. The primary reason was to protect the knot from the fine-wire of the Free Rig weights.

 

In lieu of a bead most now use a rubber/silicone "cushion". My 2 favorites are below.

 

 

 

 

These would be easy to make by pouring a drop shot with the swivel upside down. A large bobber stop can then be used on the line.

 

As for texas rigged baits most of the time its a 4" GP colored creature bait with a 3/16oz bullet weight. In the summer I do fish a lot of 7" Power worms in 3 colors; solid black, GP, and tequilla sunrise using 1/8 to 1/2oz bullet weights depending on depth.

 

Allen

Perhaps of interest...

 

 

 

 

As in all fishing, what works one hour might not the next, but after ordering year after year I can tell you I go thru the most Pearl and Green Pumpkin Rage craws, size 2/0 and 3/0 Owner J hooks, 1/16and 1/8 Neko worm weights, Freedom Tackle bobber stops, and  20 lb floro leader. I fish mostly shallow weedy water, leaders due to pickerel.

Interesting that basically no one has said senko on texas rig. It seems like all of us have a million senkos that we never throw 😂

 

I'm going to pick up some nano hooks and some tungsten weights this week. And I guess I'll have to try a free rig as well.  I'm going to add @AlabamaSpothunter to the list with @Pat Brown of top sales reps for the bait monkey... 

 

I think I already have pretty much every soft plastic mentioned laying around here somewhere... so if I can find them, I have plenty of variations to try! 

I almost picked senko FishTax. But it would be a sad sad summer if I couldn’t have an ol monster on a heavy t rig 

@FishTax I often toss a Senko as a weightless Texas rig, but as a true Texas rig (to many anglers) includes a bullet weight, I did not choose that. But I do catch a lot of bass on it. 
 

But if I analyze my technique, I’d say that I work a true Texas rig all the way back to the boat/shore, whereas I use a weightless Senko TR to cast at specific spots I believe a bass is located, and if no strikes, I reel it in and recast it. 

@BrianMDTX same thoughts as you

I love to throw a stick worm on TR but that's for my light version and I went with the heavier one here

@LrgmouthShad It’s funny that I never truly thought about my difference in technique until this thread. But yeah, it’s more of a pinpoint cast to a specific location bait for me. But it’s very effective if there’s a lot of cover to fish. And very easy to skip.  

NRX+ 853C

Daiwa Steez CT SV 8.1:1

12# Sunline Shooter

Strike king Game Hawg in green pumpkin or blue craw

1/4 oz tungsten weight(pegged)

3/0 Owner EWG

 

@FishTax I would be willing to say what most listed here is where we start but not necessarily where we finish. 

 

Like many alluded to I throw various plastics from weightless to punch rigs. 

Also dont forget when in the season we would be throwing these baits. I use stick worms for the spring and early summer but after that its something with appendages like a Man Bear Pig from Reaction Innovations.

Senko’s sink too fast for the depths I want to fish, I’d need to use a bobber. That and the blunt nose catches in the weeds more then I want.

I'll throw Zoom's Magnum Finesse Worm or Magnum Trick Worm & fish em like a Senko.

20 hours ago, softwateronly said:

 

It's not as good as a bullet weight pulling through the weeds.  My water gets almost as weedy as florida water, and I like to pop the free rig up when the weeds are thick.  You get their attention with quick movement, then the weight separates and the bait glides down.  That's usually when I get bit. Sometimes a floating worm can be worked in place too, like a bottom feeding baitfish. But I also find a standard t-rig is best when snaking horizontally through the thickest of jungle.  

 

scott

 

20 hours ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Unlike the Texas Rig, the Free Rig falls squarely into the 'Freedom of Movement' bait category.    All that means is that the rigging allows the actual lure significantly more play or freedom to move when rigged when compared to traditional bottom contact baits like a Texas Rig, or Football Jig.     So, the Free Rig is to the Texas Rig as the Football Jig is to the Wobble Head.    Besides the Free Rig, and Wobble head, the other main freedom of movement bait is the Carolina Rig.    

 

On a Free Rig It depends on the bait you use as to how much different it will be vs. a Texas Rig.     On baits like a Zoom Lizard or Ol Monster, the action isn't near as dramatic as when you use large surface area or floating/elastomer type baits.   

 

For example, a Texas Rigged elastomer Bellow's Gill doesn't create much separation between the weight and bait when it hits the bottom, but on a Free Rig that same bait will create significantly more separation, which creates a slow spiraling fall after the weight reaches bottom.   

 

A Free Rig is often referred to as a mini C-Rig.    Both rigs enable the bait to be unimpeded by the weight, hints the freedom of movement term.  

 

I fish Free Rigs mainly in heavy cover like laydowns, and brushpiles, not so much grass outside of weed lines so I can't really comment how it differs from a Texas Rig is submerged grasses.   I can say that the Free Rig comes through heavy cover as good as the Texas Rig though.  

 

Lastly, if you look at water tank Free Rig videos, the differences to the naked eye many times are hardly noticeable depending on the bait, however in practice and when you're not just dropping a few feet of line straight down into an aquarium, the effects are greatly magnified.    If you allow the Free Rig to hit bottom on slack line, the separation between weight and bait is significantly increased.    Just keep that in mind when you watch those tank tests.     

 

Bottom line, you owe it to yourself to at least try a Free Rig out.    

 

14 hours ago, Glenn said:

Perhaps of interest...

 

 

 

 

Thank you for the replies. Very helpful!

5in Senko Black with Blue Flake, 1/8oz tungsten bullet weight, and a 4/0 Ryugi Infini hook

I'm sold on giving the free rig a go. Springtime with Zoom lizards it must be deadly.

21 hours ago, Glenn said:

Perhaps of interest...

 

 

 

 

Ok. Maybe I need to watch this again, but I missed a point.  After that initial descent, and the bait has hit bottom, what should the retrieve look like? As you retrieve, the space between the sinker and the bait will decrease. Is this something you are just presenting to a target with a shorter cast?

 

Looks fun as hell.

I tend to pinpoint specific cover with the free rig and retrieve it mostly with short rod pops........reel slowly like a jig/t-rig for half a dozen turns, then add a rod pop that will allow that bait/weight separation to occur.

 

Occasionally I'll literally just fish it as it were a T Rig, however the rod pops or making that bait bounce off the bottom a foot or two is where the real magic happens for me.    

59 minutes ago, Pumpkin Lizard said:

As you retrieve, the space between the sinker and the bait will decrease.

Well....you're not wrong. However, you lift the rod back up and quickly drop it again. Then the weight will separate again. The higher you lift your rod, the greater the separation when you lower it.

2 hours ago, FishTank said:

5in Senko Black with Blue Flake, 1/8oz tungsten bullet weight, and a 4/0 Ryugi Infini hook

you know, I know this works for a lot of people. But I still haven’t gotten to the point of a lighter weight Texas rig and a regular senko. In my brain that’s a finesse presentation- I’ve already fished moving baits and something like a rage bug.  If I have to go to a senko, I’m already jumping to a Ned rig. 

 

6 hours ago, casts_by_fly said:

. But I still haven’t gotten to the point of a lighter weight Texas rig and a regular senko. In my brain that’s a finesse presentation-

 

R.O.F.: Rate Of Fall

 

ROF is just as important as the lures action. Most anglers think, use the lightest weight possible or they base weight off of water depth. Both can be completely wrong. 

 

I will throw 3/16-1/4 oz in 20' or 1/2-3/4 oz in 5'. 

22 minutes ago, Catt said:

 

R.O.F.: Rate Of Fall

 

ROF is just as important as the lures action. Most anglers think, use the lightest weight possible or they base weight off of water depth. Both can be completely wrong. 

 

I will throw 3/16-1/4 oz in 20' or 1/2-3/4 oz in 5'. 

Catt, I'm.a big believer in adjusting rate of fall. Its very quick to retie with more or less weight, and it can make a difference. We might have our favourite weights to throw, but being versatile is where it's at.